He Delivers Hope To Needy To Repay Holiday Kindness

KISSIMMEE — William ''Buster'' Lesesne recalls the day a woman gave him, his nine brothers and sisters and their dad $25 to buy Christmas dinner.

Later, when they learned that she had kept nothing for herself, they carried the home-cooked Christmas meal to the woman's house, where they all shared the food.

For years, he has been paying her back in the best way he knows. Every Christmas Eve, Lesesne delivers hope and nourishment to those who will find no gifts or presents Christmas morning.

''People have always been nice to me -- so I always felt like I owed everybody,'' he said.

A guest of governors, a successful businessman, a friend of Indian chiefs and one of Kissimmee's best-known citizens, Lesesne traces his Osceola County family lines back to the old sugar plantations once worked in St. Cloud.

His was the first taxicab company in the county, and it still operates under his name.

At 5 feet 7 with gray hair and a mustache, Lesesne looks distinguished. No one is sure how old he is.

''Like Satchel Paige, I never tell my age,'' Lesesne said. Paige was a pitcher who starred in the Negro leagues before entering the major leagues when, sports fans estimated, he was 42.

Thanks to Lesesne and American Legion Post 10 in Kissimmee, some needy people in Osceola County will have a box of Christmas food.

He used to make the deliveries in one of his four taxicabs. When he sold his small company two years ago, he began using his car.

''I started doing it because they didn't have anyone else to turn to,'' he said. ''Once I started, there was no way I could stop.''

Christmas means something special to Lesesne. To him, it is more than a time for unwrapping presents and singing Christmas carols. He also sees it as a time to help those who have very little to be thankful for.

His Christmas Eve journey is not an easy one, not even for a man half his age. While others are home spending time with their family, Lesesne is tracking down the needy.

During his deliveries last year, he wrenched his back, but not even that stopped him from completing his rounds; nor will it keep him from lugging the boxes this year.

''I know where the needy folks live, and they kind of look forward to seeing me. To them, I guess I'm like Santa Claus, and that makes me very happy. You would understand why I do it if you could see their faces.''

Earl Yates, 68, is a member of the American Legion Post and has known Lesesne all his life.

''Buster is one real good person,'' Yates said. ''He's always looking out for people in need.''

Yates said he used to help deliver the baskets.

''Some of the people we were taking food to would make tears come to your eyes. I had to tell them Legionnaires that I wouldn't be able to do it anymore -- it was too hard.''

Lesesne's father, a Barbados-born man named Scipio Carlin Lesesne, was foreman and interpreter when the sugar plantation was a thriving operation in St. Cloud.

Lesesne said Seminole chief Indian Billy Bowlegs III was a friend and frequent visitor to their home.

''I didn't know my mother,'' who died shortly after his birth. Because of her early death and father's good reputation, he said he was always ''looked after'' by Kissimmee residents.

Minnie Moore-Wilson, author and champion of Indians' rights, often stopped him as he passed her house and gave him loaves of bread and other gifts, he said.

In those days, Lesesne said there wasn't such a thing as ''garbage wagons, because no one had anything to throw away.''

Amos Davis, 63, spent 30 years in the U.S. Army before retiring and settling in Kissimmee. Davis said Lesesne has been instrumental in collecting the names of the needy veterans in the community.

''Buster has always been our mainstay because he knows the needy families,'' Davis said.

''He's no youngster -- I guess it's the goodness in his heart that keeps him going.''